A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has officially been announced on HBO!
The show will be based on George R. R. Martin’s work A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a collection of novellas that follow the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon V Targaryen–aka "Egg"–throughout Westeros. Ser Duncan the Tall, or “Dunk,” traveled the country as a hedge knight with Egg as his squire. They undergo several adventures, and Egg eventually becomes King Aegon V Targaryen, with Ser Duncan serving as his Lord Commander of the Kingsguard during his reign.
The stories take place about 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and it serves to explore more of Westeros’s territories and histories, discussing pivotal events such as the Blackfyre Rebellion–a civil war, once again, between the Targaryens that erupted when Daemon Blackfyre, a bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen, claimed his older, true born brother Daeron II Targaryen’s throne.
According to Publishers Weekly, throughout the tales, Dunk sets himself at odds with scheming royals, enters a trial by combat, and moves closer and closer to fulfilling his destiny to become a member of the Kingsguard. Fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels may also see several familiar characters in their younger years, including Maester Aemon from Game of Thrones as Egg’s older brother! This is such a meaningful connection, especially considering GOT depicts Maester Aemon as remembering his little brother on his deathbed so many years later. (A moment of silence, for now, his watch is ended . . .)
Martin says the ideas of knighthood and chivalry are central in these stories, and HBO has green-lit a full season. We’ll likely see six episodes, and the premiere season will reportedly focus on The Hedge Knight, the first of the three published novellas. With this in mind, there may be three seasons, but that is yet to be determined. Ira Parker wrote the pilot script, and Parker wrote the “King of the Narrow Sea” episode for House of the Dragon.
Martin notes the Dunk & Egg series are more narrative-driven stories than the history style of Fire & Blood, and the overall goal is to faithfully adapt the characters for the screen. It’s important to remember none of this is set in stone, but writing is underway! Hopefully, we’ll see a lot of these beloved characters in between more dancing dragons and a certain (rumored) Conquest . . .
Have you read the Dunk and Egg stories? If so, who would you fan-cast as the characters?
